My name is Sonal and I love to talk, blog and watch a whole lot of wrestling so a wrestling blog was the only obvious thing to do! Obsessed with wrestling from across the world with a soft spot for Puroresu, cruiserweights and heels. I can probably be found watching more wrestling than actually sleeping and blogging about pretty much every week.
Twitter: @Wrestling_chat
Hi guys, How crazy has 2020 has been? With everything going on in the world, it seems as if 2021 couldn't come any sooner. However, even with all of this negativity, I think it's vital to try and find some positives. Despite conditions making it hard for the wrestling industry, many companies have thrived during the pandemic. In particular, some wrestlers have managed to make the best out of a bad situation and continue trying to put on shows for fans whether in person or through streaming sites. To mark the end of another year, I'm back with my annual wrestling MVP list of the wrestlers who have stood out this year. Just a quick note, most of the stuff I've watched this year is Japanese wrestling (NJPW, DDT and TJPW)! Yuka Sakazaki 2020 has been a great year for in the sense that I've had the time to fully get into Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. For me, it's something I regret not doing earlier because it is full of some amazing wrestlers from Miu, Miyu Yamashita...
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Review: NJPW New Beginning in Osaka
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Hi guys,
Sorry for being so quiet recently, it's been a crazy few weeks and sometimes a girl needs a bit of a break to watch a lot of wrestling without writing about it. However, I'm back with another New Japan tour review and, after the huge Osaka-Jo Hall New Beginning in Osaka tour, I thought it was a great way to end an amazing tour.
This tour ran alongside the US part of the tour, but it was these shows broadcasted on New Japan World. Going into the 'Road to' shows, we had some amazing matches. Obviously, going into the tour, we were aware of a few of the big matches to look forward to at the end of the tour including Jay White v SANADA, Jon Moxley v Minoru Suzuki for the US title, Roppongi 3k v El Desperado and Kanemaru for the Jr tag titles, Hiromu Takahashi v Ryu Lee for the IWGP Jr title and last but not least Naito v Kenta for the IWGP Heavyweight and IC title. These matches gave us some crazy teams from Jon Moxley teaming with the likes of Roppongi 3k, Kazuchika Okada and his new best friend Ryusuke Taguchi. New Japan also treated us to the rare sight of some elimination matches which were the best I've seen with all factions going at each others necks and a mix of results. Everything in these matches built to something and it never felt as if something was just thrown together, but I don't expect anything less from New Japan.
New Japan also set up some great singles matches like Taichi v Okada which really tore the house down without really any long-term build up or purpose yet it brought out the best in both men with some amazing moments and great wrestling. There was then the slugfest between EVIL and Tomohiro Ishii which had most fans on the edge of their seats and hoping that neither man was actually going to kill each other (because it was like two bulls let lose).
There were also some amazing bouts for the NEVER titles. There was the fast pace and equally as hard-hitting match where Shingo Takagi beat Hirooki Goto for the NEVER singles title. Both men are so talented combining strength, speed and power unlike many others in the business. As happy as I was to see Takagi get the built I think he was made for, I am a massive Goto fan and was sad to see him lose the belt he's become synonymous with. Then, we saw Los Ingobernables defend their NEVER 6-man titles against the Chaos combination of Ishii, Goto and Robbie Eagles. It was as chaotic as we expect from matches like this and we got to see some amazing offence between very like minded wrestlers. After an amazing win, after Ishii challenged Takagi for his title, crowds were treated to Yano and Taguchi sneaking into the arena and taking the titles.
I also can't forget the amazing bout between Zack Sabre Jr and Will Ospreay for the Rev Pro British Heavyweight title. ZSJ is the one opponent Ospreay hasn't seemed to conquer. As expected, it all started on the mat and seemed to follow a very traditional British route with lock ups, transitions and submissions. It didn't take long for the Aerial Assassin to start flying putting on a show for everyone to watch. However, Zack knows everything Will has to offer and found counters to counters and used his bendy frame to get himself out of some tricky situations. In the end, it was actually a referee stoppage that won ZSJ the match and that is the way the Vegan Hydra would've wanted it!
After an amazing start to the tour, the actual New Beginning show in Osaka had a lot to live up too. But, with the matches advertised, was it any surprise that it both met and exceeded expectations? From the minute the first match started, there wasn't a single match that wasn't worthy for Osaka-Jo Hall whether it was the 3rd Generation Club v Henare, Taguchi, Honma and Makabe or Chaos v Suzuki. Every match had a purpose. In particular, Sanada v Jay White was one of the best matches of the night. Despite no title implications, both men went 110% throughout trying to use their own style of offence to get the advantage over their opponent. Jay White used his power, strength and wit whilst Sanada utilised his speed, agility and technical skills. Considering no title was on the line, I was surprised at how good it actually was and how into it the crowd was - but I don't expect anything less from two of my favourite wrestlers.
The highlights had to be the title matches. Even though it was so low down on the card, Roppongi 3k defending their Jr titles against El Desperado and Kanemaru was a work of psychological genius. The Suzuki Gun duo spent the last few shows working on Sho's leg and, even today, it was a huge part of their match mentality. Both guys tried to constantly isolate the Gold Standard of Professional wrestling. Luckily, with Yoh by his side, the duo were able to beat adversity and overcome the long standing battle they've had in title defences. After the match, Taguchi came out and made a proposition to RPG manager Rocky Romero. It looks like the next challengers for the title will be the Mega Coaches and this is going to be very interesting...
We then had Minoru Suzuki v Jon Moxley for the US title. Although not my favourite match of the night, it had everything we expected from the two in a hard hitting and brutal match. Neither man seemed to gain the advantage for too long, but in the end Moxley got the win with the DeathRider. Like with Roppongi 3k, we were then met with the next challenger for the title in the form of Zack Sabre Jr. This will definitely be a huge contrast of styles, but it will be interesting to see where it goes! Obviously, I can't forget about the show's main event: Tetsuya Naito v Kenta for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental title. Some people might have seen it as slow starting, but it perfectly played to the purpose of the match. It wasn't meant to by stylish or a technical masterclass - it was a fight that's been based on psychology. Of course, it had some amazing wrestling in it but it was the smaller things that meant more: Kenta trying to avoid Naito, the presence of Jay White, Hiromu and Bushi coming to save Naito and even the probably unintentional blood that split from Naito's head.
However, despite the amazing main event, the highlight of the show had to be Hiromu Takahashi v Ryu Lee. As expected, I spent about 99.99% of the match hiding behind a pillow, but in like the best way possible. From the second the bell rang, it was as if two fireworks had been set off in the ring blazing around the ring throwing any offence available whether it was chops, Canadian destroyers, kicks and DDTs. There were a few moments where my heart almost stopped beating because they were doing moves that were so dangerous like the tope suicida Lee did onto Hiromu who was sat on the barricade. However, after all is said and done, it was an amazing match in every single way and I'm glad Hiromu retained! This match is literally a MOTY contendor and it's only February.
So, yet another successful and amazing New Japan Tour done! We've only just started the year and New Japan are smashing it with the shows. Coming up, we've got Tiger Hattori and Manabu Nakanishi's retirement shows, New Japan Road and of course the New Japan Cup! Make sure you keep an eye out and subscribe to NJPWWorld if you haven't!
Hopefully you enjoyed my post and the tour in general! Let me know what you think and make sure to talk to me on my social media:
Also, keep an eye out for my fortnightly podcast where I talk a lot about all thing wrestling: https://www.mixcloud.com/WrestlingChatter/ because I will be trying to be a lot more consistent with all these posts and podcasts!
Hi guys, How crazy has 2020 has been? With everything going on in the world, it seems as if 2021 couldn't come any sooner. However, even with all of this negativity, I think it's vital to try and find some positives. Despite conditions making it hard for the wrestling industry, many companies have thrived during the pandemic. In particular, some wrestlers have managed to make the best out of a bad situation and continue trying to put on shows for fans whether in person or through streaming sites. To mark the end of another year, I'm back with my annual wrestling MVP list of the wrestlers who have stood out this year. Just a quick note, most of the stuff I've watched this year is Japanese wrestling (NJPW, DDT and TJPW)! Yuka Sakazaki 2020 has been a great year for in the sense that I've had the time to fully get into Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. For me, it's something I regret not doing earlier because it is full of some amazing wrestlers from Miu, Miyu Yamashita...
Hi guys, For me, New Japan Pro Wrestling has to be one, if not, the best company in the world for giving us amazing wrestling content. With the introduction of their streaming site NJPW World, more worldwide shows and English commentary (from the AMAZING Kevin Kelly) on most of their shows, it’s becoming a massive rival for other massive companies. But, when I started watching it a while back, the whole format was really confusing because it was so different from what I was used too. So, in the lead up to Wrestle Kingdom (which is the biggest show/s of the NJ calendar year), here’s a beginner’s guide to New Japan Pro Wrestling (Shin Nihon Puroresu) for anyone who wants to watch NJPW but has no idea where to start. History New Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in 1972 by wrestling legend Antonio Inoki after he left the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion. Inoki put himself as the star of the company and drew on the experiences of foreign wrestlers (Gaijin’s) like the Bri...
Hi guys, I think I've already made it clear how excited I am for this year's Best of Super Jr tournament. However, in the midst of my excitement, I forgot all about the fact that it was a combined tour with World Tag League, probably because we didn't hear any announcements about the line-up - until now! Just like the BoSJ, this tournament is going to in a single block format and is full of some of your favourite tag teams in Japan. Without further ado, here is my preview of the 2020 World Tag League! FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) Will New Japan fans be treated to another round of Happy Beers from last year's World Tag League winners? Well, I'm just happy to see them both teaming together again in Japan. David Finlay and Juice Robinson are the epitome of what a babyface is and just radiate this positive energy despite all the obstacles in front of them. Since they started teaming together, they've both had a career rejuvenation with their best frien...
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